The French beat the U.S. at something?

Maybe the paranoia and hatred about Scientology is overblown when you consider the relatively small number of people directly affected, but there’s still something satisfying about seeing a crackpot cult-ish thingie invented by a second-rate author get smacked down.

The French seem to have it in for Scientology. A French court slapped Scientology’s office in France with a $900,000 fine for organized fraud.

And France isn’t alone in taking swipes at Scientology. According to the New York Times (and we know they never make stuff up),

Belgium, Germany and other European countries have been criticized by the U.S. State Department for labeling Scientology as a cult or sect and enacting laws to restrict its operations.

I’m somehow unsurprised that the United States defends a “religion” with a heavy emphasis on profit. Or maybe the U.S. is just standing up for religious freedom.